Spark

In this episode, Nico introduces Ainsley, the podcast's future host. They discuss how entrepreneurship has grown especially in the online sphere since the pandemic. They also cover how certain types of online entrepreneurship like selling courses and drop shipping have become more popular.

Gabriel Fleury shares his experience creating DeepPurpl, an Acai Bowl restaurant in Chicago. From opening days before the pandemic to national expansion, DeepPurpl has had a challenging road to success.

In this episode, Riz Zaheer joins us to discuss his many ventures. His entrepreneurial spirit was especially ignited during the quarantine in 2020 when he built an e-commerce brand from scratch—with zero capital.

Mike Zingg, a senior at LUC shares his entrepreneurial journey as a photographer. What started as a hobby turned into freelancing and eventually a self-made company. This and more in our conversation with Mike.

Jaime Orejuela, a senior at Loyola University Chicago majoring in economics, talks to us about his experience at Loyola Limited. Loyola Ltd creates experiential learning opportunities rooted in creativity, innovation, & entrepreneurship. Jaime talks us through the challenges of a young organization that had to restart after the pandemic.

In this episode, we talk about the importance of good branding. Companies of all sizes need to differentiate themselves and establish brand identity. Kevin talks us through what makes good branding great and shares some examples. Listen to some tips to improve your business and brand for the future!

In this episode, we talk to Bill Feeley, a seasoned investor. Bill talks about his innovations in the field, from being an early promoter of online trading to creating a trading company that focuses on giving opportunities to ex-convicts. Innovation can be internal and in many cases can be one simple change that leads to a brand-new opportunity.

A conversation with John Thomson, co-founder of Swol Technologies a social digital fitness company. John shares his path to entrepreneurship and his experience with entrepreneurship during his time at Loyola.

We host Dr Jenna Drenten, associate professor at the Quinlan School of Business. Our conversation focuses on how can we use new social media platforms to create a new venture. How can we explore these to make sure that we do our best as consumers, and also as entrepreneurs?

In this episode, we have a conversation with Professor Eve Geroulis on how education can help shape us into entrepreneurs. We talk about the good and the bad of current education and what changes both institutions and students can make to be more successful.

In today's episode, we discuss consumer behaviour with Dr Katherine Sredl. Understanding trends and how consumers behave is key for any new or existing business. Dr Sredl shares her projections on future trends and the opportunities she sees opening up for new businesses.

Tyler Thorne, a successful intrapreneur, talks to us about his experience building something of his own in a large multi-billion dollar tech company. We talk about what being an intrapreneur entails and how we can carry an entrepreneurial mindset everywhere in our lives. This and more on this episode of Spark.

In the second episode of the season, we welcome 2022 Abrams Sustainable Business Challenge third-place finishers Fusion Foods & Finalists Fungi Stone. We dive deep into their motivations and their ideas and how the challenge helped them boost their ideas into reality. Jonathan Ostroff and Jose Mizrahi talk about their new hybrid meat and the environmental benefits of going hybrid. Adriana Esparza from Fungi Stone talks about a fungi construction material that is alive and extremely sustainable.

To kick off the 2022-2023 academic year we are talking to 2022 Abrams Sustainable Business Challenge Winners Tikal & Runners-Up Loop. We dive deep into their motivations and their ideas and how the challenge helped them boost their ideas into reality. Megan Yamauchi and Tayyaba Ali from Tikal talk about their innovative water filtering solution. Caro Bush and Elise Giles from Loop talk about a new way to approach second-hand clothing.

Arielle Leopold's story is proof that you don't have to limit success to just one area of your life. In addition to her full-time corporate job, she runs The Armory United, an athleisure company she launched in the midst of the pandemic. With everyone lounging around at home in their sweatpants and hoodies, she saw an opportunity to bring her passion for doodling to life. In the episode, Arielle walks through her process of creating each product line from sketch to launch, as well as how she balances running her business while still working her full-time corporate job. She also shares a powerful message to entrepreneurs, especially women entrepreneurs, about setting boundaries and making time for your interests and passions outside of work. The Armory United Website: https://armoryunited.com/ The Armory United Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thearmoryunited/ Allison's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-heithoff-657328149/ Follow Ignite Lab on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luc_ignite_lab/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/LUC_Ignite_Lab/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignite-lab

At just 19 years old, Ian Dilick formally incorporated Eschaton. The vision for the business was to build the hardware and software for self-driving cars to essentially share data with each other about what they see around them. Not long after incorporating the business, Ian went on to pursue Eschaton full-time, raising money from investors, and was even recognized by Chicago Inno's 25 Under 25. In the episode, Ian reveals how he used Twitter to meet his first investor and secure a $15,000 check to kickstart his business. He also shares some advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, including building a personal board of advisors and getting involved in Chicago's startup ecosystem. Ian's Twitter: https://twitter.com/imdilick Ian's Website: https://iandilick.com/ Follow Ignite Lab on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luc_ignite_lab/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/LUC_Ignite_Lab/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignite-lab

Mahdi Sahloul is a Loyola alum who, during his final years of undergrad, launched his own e-commerce fashion website called Soori. Although no longer currently in operation, Soori was a purpose-driven venture with the mission of preserving Syrian culture through eco-friendly and ethically-made athleisure and streetwear. A portion of profits was also donated in support of refugee resettlement efforts in the United States. In our conversation, Mahdi explains social entrepreneurship and shares his motivation behind pursuing this path. He reflects on some of the challenges encountered and lessons learned while launching and scaling the business, as well as his reasons for ceasing operations to pursue a career in consulting. Mahdi's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahdi-sahloul-721137107/ Follow Ignite Lab on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luc_ignite_lab/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/LUC_Ignite_Lab/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignite-lab

April Lane, an entrepreneurship instructor at the Quinlan School of Business, joins this episode to share her expertise on the topic of product market fit. Drawing from over 15 years of experience in the entrepreneurship community, she explains what product market fit is and further illustrates the concept through firsthand examples of mistakes, as well as success stories witnessed from consulting with countless entrepreneurs and startups throughout her career. If you are looking for tips to identify your target customer, understand the market for your product or service, and ultimately establish a framework for deciding whether your business has reached product market fit, then this episode is for you. April's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laneapril/ April's Bio: https://www.luc.edu/quinlan/faculty/aprillaneschuster.shtml Resources Mentioned in the Episode: https://medium.com/ https://brianbalfour.com/four-fits-growth-framework https://www.ycombinator.com/ Follow Ignite Lab on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luc_ignite_lab/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/LUC_Ignite_Lab/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignite-lab

In this episode, I am joined by Charles Hardeman, a Loyola alum who co-founded a business with chemistry professor Jacob Ciszek while still in college. This business, Molecular Interfaces, specializes in technological advancements in large-scale displays with a range of applications, such as digitizing blueprints. In the episode, he shares his experience participating in the research that inspired the business, as well as how he applied both his science and business background as the entrepreneurial lead for the venture, which contributed to successful grant funding from the National Science Foundation. He also talks about how he balanced his time as a college student and gives his advice for anyone interested in starting a business while in college! Connect with Charles on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-charles-hardeman-msf-bba-bsc-a78b639b/ Follow Ignite Lab on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luc_ignite_lab/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/LUC_Ignite_Lab LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignite-lab

Welcome to Spark, an entrepreneurship podcast hosted by Ignite Lab at Loyola University Chicago! Listen to hear an overview of the podcast, as well as what you can expect from future episodes. You can find Spark on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you listen to podcasts.